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Infection and Immunity, April 2005, p. 2253-2261, Vol. 73, No. 4
0019-9567/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.73.4.2253-2261.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

The Thermophilic, Homohexameric Aminopeptidase of Borrelia burgdorferi Is a Member of the M29 Family of Metallopeptidases

Chagas' Disease Multidisciplinary Research Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine,¹ Center for Protein Research, Institute of Biology, The University of Brasília, Brasília, Brazil,³ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Texas Medical School at Houston, Houston, Texas²

Received 23 July 2004/ Returned for modification 27 September 2004/ Accepted 20 December 2004

Proteases are implicated in several aspects of the physiology of microorganisms, as well as in host-pathogen interactions. Aminopeptidases are also emerging as novel drug targets in infectious agents. In this study, we have characterized an aminopeptidase from the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. The aminopeptidolytic activity was identified in cell extracts from B. burgdorferi by using the substrate leucine-7-amido-4-methylcoumarin. A protein displaying this activity was purified from B. burgdorferi by a two-step chromatographic procedure, yielding a 300-kDa homo-oligomeric enzyme formed by monomers of 50 kDa. Gel enzymography experiments showed that enzymatic activity depends on the oligomeric structure of the protease but does not involve interchain disulfide bonds. The enzyme was identified by peptide mass fingerprinting as the putative aminopeptidase II of B. burgdorferi, encoded by the gene BB0069. It shares significant identity to members of the M29/T family of metallopeptidase, is sensitive to bestatin, has a neutral pH optimum, and displays maximal activity at 60°C. Its activity is 1.75-fold higher at the temperature of the mammalian host than at that of the insect host of the pathogen. The activity of this thermophilic aminopeptidase of B. burgdorferi (TAP_Bb) depends on Zn²⁺, and temperatures over 70°C promoted its inactivation through a transition from the hexameric state to the monomeric state. Since B. burgdorferi is deficient in pathways for amino acid synthesis, TAP_Bb could play a role in supplying required amino acids. Alternatively, the enzyme could be involved in peptide and/or protein processing.

Editor: J. T. Barbieri